The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 451

Before leaving the brothel, Zhou Chu did not give Liu Sisi any money, because he knew that this would be an insult to a courtesan, especially to someone like Liu Sisi.

In reality, Zhou Chu didn't need to leave anything for Liu Sisi. The news that Liu Sisi was serving Lord Zhou quickly spread throughout the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau). After learning about this, all the officials and supervisors in the Jiaofangsi changed their attitudes towards Liu Sisi.

They used to be able to boss Liu Sisi around, but now things are different. When they face Liu Sisi, they all have to put on a smiling face.

"Would you like to move to a larger private room?"

An official from the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) smiled obsequiously at Liu Sisi.

"No need, I'm used to living here."

Liu Sisi refused.

In fact, Liu Sisi didn't want to change her residence because it held memories of her and Zhou Chu. Although Liu Sisi knew very well that Lord Zhou would never take her seriously, at most treating her as a toy to relieve boredom occasionally, Liu Sisi was still willing to stay.

Moreover, nowadays everyone in the entire Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) has to be mindful of his mood, which is much better than life before.

Upon hearing this, the officials of the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) probably understood Liu Sisi's thoughts and did not press the matter further.

"I'll have my staff replace your supplies with the best ones later."

After saying this, the official from the Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) left.

"Miss, why don't you ask Lord Zhou for help for your family?"

Liu Sisi's maid looked at Liu Sisi with some confusion.

“What Lord Zhou said makes a lot of sense. If you do something wrong, you should accept the punishment. Lord Zhou has never been one to put personal matters before public ones. If I make such a request, Lord Zhou might agree, but he probably won’t come to me again.”

Liu Sisi said this while looking at herself in the mirror.

"I've been reading a lot for the past six months, and the more I read, the more I understand one principle."

Liu Sisi continued.

"What's the point?"

The maid asked in confusion.

"If I really ask Lord Zhou to help my clansmen, when they return to the capital and regain their status, they will not only not be grateful to me, but they will also look down on me and regard me as a disgrace."

Liu Sisi sneered.

"It would be better if I sent them money every month or two. Although they are in exile, they won't suffer too much. With the money I give them, they should be able to live well. In this way, they will be inseparable from me and will be extremely grateful to me."

Liu Sisi looked at the maid and said.

Upon hearing this, the maid nodded thoughtfully.

“What you say is absolutely right, Miss. Even if you really save them, they probably won’t be grateful to you at all.”

The maid knew very well that her young mistress had entered the brothel. Even if she was a courtesan, it was always a disgrace to those high-ranking families. Once Liu Sisi's family regained their status, the first people they would despise would be Liu Sisi and the other women from her family who had entered the brothel with her.

Now, Liu Sisi can not only take care of her clansmen, frequently sending them money, but she can even get the officials of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution) to take good care of the women of her clan.

All of this was because he had served Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even if Zhou Chu hadn't said anything, the officials of the Jiaofangsi dared not offend Liu Sisi in the slightest. Otherwise, if Liu Sisi were to make things difficult for them in front of Zhou Chu, they would be in for a world of trouble.

Zhou Chu and Lu Wei left the brothel. Zhou Chu looked at Lu Wei, whose legs seemed a little weak, and showed disdain.

"You can't do this? Your legs are already weak?"

"Those women are all vixens. Who could stand them all at once? You wouldn't be able to handle it either."

Lu Wei placed his hands on his lower back and massaged his lumbar region repeatedly.

"You've practiced martial arts for so many years in vain. I'll teach you a method later that's incredibly effective."

Zhou Chu looked at Lu Wei and said meaningfully.

"What method?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Wei immediately perked up.

"There was an old general in ancient times who used moxibustion on the Guanyuan acupoint every day. Even at the age of eighty, he could still have sex with ten women a night. Although this story is somewhat exaggerated, moxibustion on the Guanyuan acupoint is indeed very effective. However, you have to be persistent and do it every day."

Zhou Chu didn't hide anything and laughed.

Lu Wei silently wrote down Zhou Chu's method and decided to try it when he got home. He had been through too much this time and really needed to recover.

"Are you still thinking about your courtesan?"

Zhou Chu looked at Lu Wei and asked.

"I don't want to think about it anymore. Compared to the courtesans in the brothel, that woman is nothing special."

Lu Wei waved his hand and said.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu displayed an expression of "I knew it," which made Lu Wei feel quite embarrassed.

“That woman kept telling me that I really didn’t know how to refuse. I originally thought that after the wedding, I could redeem her from her servitude and take her as a concubine. But she insisted that she didn’t want to be a concubine and would make a scene whenever she was told that she was going to die.”

Lu Wei blushed deeply with embarrassment as he said this.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu immediately sneered.

"That's because you're completely under her thumb. Do you think she'd dare make such a demand on anyone else? You're such a hypocrite, always putting on airs in front of women. You deserve to be controlled by Yang Ran once you get married."

Zhou Chu even suspected that the so-called courtesan was not simple, or that she had ill intentions.

Both Zhou Chu and the Lu family have long been thorns in the side of countless people in the capital, who want to get rid of them as soon as possible.

Zhou Chu's mansion was impenetrable; it was impossible to place anyone there unless Zhou Chu himself requested it, such as those eunuchs who tended the horses.

So the Lu family became the second-best option. However, it wasn't so simple for the Lu family to place people there. The Lu family had been Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) for generations, and all the servants and maids in the Lu family were personally arranged by Sun Qiang, so there were no problems.

In this situation, Lu Wei was undoubtedly the best entry point for those who wanted to plant people in the Lu family mansion.

In fact, Zhou Chu had already instructed Da Zhu to arrange for the Imperial Guards to investigate this matter before he came to the Jiaofangsi.

"My lord, we've investigated thoroughly. The top courtesan of Yichun Pavilion does indeed have a questionable background. This woman named Chunying only appeared at Yichun Pavilion half a year ago and quickly became the top courtesan. According to our preliminary investigation, this woman is most likely arranged by Lord Mao Ji. Officials from the Mao family have visited Yichun Pavilion to see her several times."

As soon as Zhou Chu and Lu Wei returned home, a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) commander was already waiting in the Zhou residence. Naturally, he did not disturb Lord Zhou's romantic night and quietly waited for Zhou Chu and Lu Wei to return.

At Zhou Chu's prompting, he revealed the investigation results to Lu Wei in front of him.

Lu Wei was stunned when he heard this.

“You are the second young master of the Lu family. Now, both the Lu family and I are under the watchful eyes of countless people who wish my elder brother and I were dead. If you can’t control your groin in the future, go to the brothel more often. You can’t have any more contact with women from other places.”

Zhou Chu looked at Lu Wei with a serious expression.

Lu Wei realized the seriousness of the situation. The thought that he had almost married a woman who had designs on the Lu family sent chills down his spine.

"I won't mess around like that again."

Lu Wei hurriedly assured him.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chu nodded, his face immediately turning cold.

"It seems these people finally couldn't sit still any longer."